17th creative writing seminar on documentary film.

Seminar Media and documentary – Modul 2 is intended for students of journalism, film studies and other related fields, as well as for aspiring writers who want to improve their writing about documentary film and have their text from IDFF published in the online magazines dok.revue and Modern Times Review.

SEMINAR PROGRAMME

TUESDAY Oct 29
Stará aula vysoké školy polytechnické Jihlava, Tolstého 16

1:30 PM – 2:15 PM Steve Rickinson / What Type of Critic Do You Want To Be: Film Criticism in the Digital Age
Steve Rickinson is an alternative film, music, media critic and curator based in Bucharest, Romania, by way of Brooklyn, NY and Amsterdam, NL. He is the day-to-day operations manager, industry editor, and web manager for Modern Times Review: Cinepolitical Documentary Magazine. With an academic background from The New School for Public Engagement and the University of Amsterdam, Steve has studied media extensively, focusing on documentary film and activism, incorporating and promoting independent ownership across activities. His early professional days were spent co-founding and running the New York City-based magazine Indiewood/Hollywood while continuing to contribute to underground culture in international music, cinema, and political publications. These days, Steve travels the international documentary film festival circuit, participating in juries, panels, and workshops across the continent. He also curates alternative cinema events and writes for cultural organisations in his adopted home in Bucharest.

This lecture will examine the evolving landscape of film criticism, focusing on the shift from traditional platforms to digital media. It will explore the growing influence of PR and marketing on critical voices, film journalists' economic challenges, and algorithms' increasing role in shaping consensus-driven reviews. The lecture will also discuss the ideological polarization of criticism in today's media environment and consider potential pathways for the future of independent, thoughtful film criticism in the digital age.rds

2:30 PM – 3:15 PM Jean Pierre Rehm / Writing: printing or expressing?
Jean-Pierre Rehm, a graduate of the École Normale Supérieure, where he studied modern literature and philosophy, has taught the history and theory of film and art at various art schools. He later joined the French Ministry of Culture, focusing on curating exhibitions. Since 2001, he has served as the director of FIDMarseille, the International Documentary Film Festival in Marseille. Rehm is also a regular contributor to various art and cinema publications such as Cahiers du Cinéma, Cinéma, and Trafic. He has written exhibition catalogues and monographs on artists and filmmakers, including Roee Rosen, Tsaï Ming-liang, Mark Lewis, William Eggleston, Jimmie Durham, Peter Friedl, Jacques Rozier, and Isidore Isou. Additionally, he has curated numerous significant contemporary art exhibitions both in France and internationally, including at the Cairo Museum of Modern Art, Witte de With in Rotterdam, and the Yokohama Art Center in Japan.

3:30 PM – 4:15 PM Martin Kudláč / A Survivor's Guide to Freelance Journalism
Martin Kudláč works as a film industry correspondent for the European Cineuropa portal and as a film critic for Screen Anarchy. His articles have appeared in various domestic and international media. In the past, he led university courses on cinema and served as an editorial board member of the scientific journal Art Communication & Popculture. He is the co-author of The Hero's Image in Cultural Memory and a collaborating author on Body and Text: Cultural Transformations in New Media Environments.
Discover the essentials of freelance journalism, from shaping compelling story pitches to managing collaborations and staying organized in a dynamic field. The hands-on guidance uses real-world examples to help navigate the unique challenges of freelancing.

4:30 PM – 5:15 PM Truls Lie / Essay films and writing reviews
Truls Lie has a background as newspaper and magazine editor – for 30 years. He has an education in philosophy & media, from Oslo, San Francisco and New York. Since 2015 he has been the editor of NY TID, a 96 pages Norwegian quarterly book magazine & commentary, and the European documentary film magazine Modern Times Review since 2017. Both today as quarterly printed, and online. As a filmmaker he also creates documentaries and essay films.HISTORY: Previous publisher and editor-in-chief of Morgenbladet in Oslo (1993–2003) and Le Monde diplomatique (2003-2013). He was also editor-inf-chief of the DOX magazine by EDN for 4 years.

This lecture will explore key filmmakers who have created essay films, such as Harun Farocki, Pier Paolo Pasolini, and Jean-Luc Godard. It will also examine how to write more critical or essayistic film reviews. Additionally, the lecture will cover the theory behind the essay film, highlighting how it differs from traditional narrative cinema, as defined by theorists like Robert McKee.

SATURDAY Nov 2
Stará aula vysoké školy polytechnické Jihlava, Tolstého 16

CONSULTATION 11 AM – 3 PM